Things go bump in the night
by Starrmyst
Summary: JJ & Rossi have had a huge fight. Penelope steps in and informs Dave that he'd better fix it before it's too late!
1. Chapter 1

Masquerade Challenge

Prompts: JJ/Rossi, Mad Hatter

"Listen up buster! I've had enough of you wallowing in self pity. Poor you...'I've got a hot girlfriend...I've got a pseudo son who adores me...I've got friends who'd kill for me...I'm a billionaire!' Well buck up bronco because NO ONE cares about your little problems. Get over it!"

Stomping out of his living room, Penelope Garcia turned back just before she reached the door. Her eyes all ablaze with a fire he had never seen before. A chill permeated his bones with her final words, " Super Agent, if you don't fix this, I will make sure that your name will be on every No Fly list in the Country, your finances in tatters and..."Narrowing her eyes she finished, "your manhood on a silver platter! Fix it now OR you'll be sorry!"

David Rossi leaned back against the seat of his Italian leather arm chair and groaned out loud. He listened as the front door of his cabin was slammed shut by the departing Garcia, the sound reverberating throughout the empty house. As much as he hated to admit it, Garcia was right. He had screwed up royally and the only way to fix it was to put aside his pride and beg his lady love for forgiveness.

Rossi was a stubborn old coot but he knew that he had to back down from this latest argument he had with JJ.

_It had started as a normal day. Henry was playing with Lego in the den and he and JJ were curled up on the couch in front of the roaring fire in his Great room. They had been discussing the upcoming Halloween party that JJ and Penelope were planning for JJ. They planned to have the party on Halloween Day so that Henry and Jack could go Trick or Treating for a short while and then have their friends over for some fun. _

_Of course Rossi was willing to help, but his idea of helping was to pick up the phone and call in a professional. This set JJ off and it went downhill from there. From shooting down every suggestion he made to refusing to wear a costume, Dave certainly earned being kicked to the curb. While he certainly didn't understand what had happened when she pushed him out the door and slammed it in his face, he knew that he had pushed her over her limit. _

_Remembering her words to him, he winced at the anger in her voice, "Rossi, I need you to leave right now. If you are not out of my sight in the next 2 minutes, I'm going to take my government issued gun and do something that goes against all my training and beliefs."_

"_Bella, please..."_

"_Don't talk to me. I'm done with you. I've tried to make you a part of this family but every time I think we are reaching that point you do something like this. Either you want to be in a relationship or you don't! For the love of God, grow up and pick one. Your 53 years old! Be a man!"_

"_But Bella...I pick you." Dave pleaded reaching out for her arms._

"_Don't you touch me!" JJ screeched." You've now got 30 seconds before I pull out my gun. 25...24...23..." _

_Holding up his hands in defeat, Rossi walked over to the door, JJ hot on his heels. He turned to try and apologize to her, but she placed her hand on his chest and pushed him out the door before he could say anything. "Bella...I.."_

"_Save it for someone who cares!" JJ replied, slamming the door before he could blink. _

He knew she had reached a limit that he had never seen before. Sure they had fought before and they had made up easily but now their fight had been going on for over 2 weeks. Some would ever venture to suppose that they had broken up, although no one would ever say that to his face.

No, David believed that JJ would come to her senses and she'd answer one of the million messages he had left for her. Or perhaps she'd break down after the delivery of another bouquet of roses to her office. That was until today. Penelope Garcia had gathered the courage to stand up to THE David Rossi and give her a piece of her mind. Plus she threatened him with bodily and emotional harm if he didn't fix it.

Rubbing his hands across his beard he thought about what he could do. How was he going to prove to JJ that he was truly sorry for what he said"Ahha!" he cried out, slapping his hand on his thigh. "I've got it!" He quickly jumped off the couched and got on the phone, setting his plan into action.

Sitting back down, he grabbed a cigar to toast his successful phone call. He was ready to face those the bumps in the night...and he certainly knew there'd be more bumps before he could worm his way back into the heart of Ms Jennifer Jareau.


	2. Chapter 2

Closing the door gently to her son's bedroom, tears springing to her eyes as the exhaustion took over JJ's body. Henry had woken up screaming after hearing some bumps in the night and he wanted Dave to sooth him. It had taken well over an hour to settle him down and get him back to sleep. Sniffling, JJ stumbled to her bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. Dragging herself over to her jewellery chest, a gift from Dave for her birthday, she put her watch and rings in one of the drawers.

Gazing around the bedroom, her eyes fell to the huge bouquet of purple roses that were overtaking her dresser. Reaching out to touch one of the petals, she grabbed her hand back as though it had burned her. She really should have dumped the bouquets straight into the garbage bin instead of spreading them around the house where she could see and smell them. She really hadn't thought about how she would feel every time she caught a whiff of her favourite roses. Damn that man! No matter what she did, he seemed to find away wreck havoc on her emotions.

JJ did want to forget about her sadness and in those moments that she took in the beauty of the flowers, the distress was gone momentarily. There were good memories that the roses made her think about; the first night they spent together, the first time they went out as a family, the first time he said he was sorry. Leaning over to smell them, JJ closed her eyes and transported herself back to a time a few weeks ago when she and Dave had been happy before it all fell apart.

They had just finished another great meal that David had prepared for the small family. JJ cleaned up while Dave and Henry enjoyed building a city out of Lego. Once she had put away the last of the dishes, she joined her two special men enjoying the quietness of the cabin. Ever since JJ and Dave became official, his house had become their house, with JJ slowly moving in clothes and supplies for both her and Henry.

Their 'relationship' was not without their ups and downs. They certainly had their fair share of arguments as a couple, but the disagreements never lasted and the make-up sex was fantastic! This particular argument should never have happened and perhaps any other day if her own emotions were not teetering on the edge it would just have been dismissed with a quick apology. But a simple discussion about a kid's Halloween party turned into a knock down, dragged out fight that, in essence, ended their relationship. She couldn't believe that in her mind somehow his refusal to wear a costume to the party became a lack of support for her son and herself. But that night she told him that if he disappointed her boy it was over between them. Their disagreement blew up into epic proportions after that and for whatever reason, the sharing of information between the couple became a choosing of sides in the sand.

In reality the discussion had started with Dave's intention to try and help in the best way he knew how. It escalated to a point where no matter what he said, he just set her off and she couldn't control her emotions. She told him some things that she now regretted, especially when she kicked him out of his own house! JJ knew that she was wrong to let it go so far but she had her reasons...and what he said, well she didn't think she could ever forgive him.

Changing into her flannel PJ's, JJ continued to rationalize what had happened with David in her head. Yes they had a huge fight and he had tried to apologize to her over the last few weeks but how could JJ just forget what he said. And his "It's my way or the Highway!" attitude didn't work for her either. He really was an arrogant bastard and she should be thrilled that he wasn't in her life any more but somehow that made her feel worse.

She knew he didn't mean it when he said that he wished he was still single but he said it and words just don't go away. Even though she knew that Dave really loved both her and her son, sometimes the fact that he had been alone far too long was very evident. On occasion, especially in front of a young and sexy woman, he spoke as though he was still single and free and that scared JJ. She loved him so much but she wasn't willing to give up the emotional well being of her child. This time JJ had enough. If that's what Dave really wanted then JJ was not going to stand in his way. It was about time that she made a decision about her own life.

Dave wasn't going to change and it wasn't fair to her or to her son to think that he might. It saddened her to think about her son losing another father figure in his life. Poor Henry! Will had walked out on him last year and it had taken a long time for him to let Dave into his heart. Dave had been so patient with Henry and pretty soon Henry was choosing Dave over his own mother. They had established a bedtime routine all their own and now that Dave was not in the picture, Henry had let his mother know that she was not part of the "boy's club"! His shrieks each night tore her heart out as he sobbed for his Unca Dabe.

Wrapping her arms around herself, she curled up on the bed and pulled the blanket over herself. Hugging herself tightly, come hell or high water, tomorrow she knew that she'd have to tell him the truth. She had more than just herself to think about.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi All,

I know that I promised to have another chapter up today but I sliced a few of my fingers on a mandolin while cooking and I won't be able to type for a few days. I'm fine but feel so stupid because I was just telling my significant other that i knew how to use it when bam...fingers went to close. Would have made a good Halloween story though! Hoping that it won't take too long heal as it takes me forever to type with my left hand. I'll post as soon as I can.

Cheers

Starr


	4. Chapter 4

_**Sorry for the delay. I really did a number on my fingers. They are still sore but at least the bleeding has stopped and the cuts are starting to heal. This is a short one so I can get to the next part. **_

The next day, JJ dragged herself off the elevator and walked towards her office door. Passing the glass doors that opened into the bullpen, JJ smiled briefly at the condition of room. She could see that Penelope had been busy making sure that no one forgot her favourite holiday. It was quite a miracle that the health and safety committee didn't make her take down all the orange and black streamers she had hung from the light fixtures. The spider web she had put up covered most of doorway into the bullpen and each of the Agent's desks had a funky little Halloween statue that sparkled and glittered.

Halloween was just a day away and while Penelope had promised to take care of many of the details for the Halloween Party, there was one detail that JJ needed to take care of herself. She needed to tell Dave about her decision today so that tomorrow she could focus on Henry and only Henry.

Squaring her shoulders, she strode purposely across the bullpen and up the stairs, thankful that it was still early and none of her colleagues had arrived yet to witness where she was headed. Storming into his office without knocking she commanded, "Whatever you are doing, buster, drop it!" It was only after that her eyes took in the profiles of both Strauss and Hotch at the desk with Dave.

Smiling brightly, Dave looked at her as she began to blush profusely "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked innocently.

Mortified JJ stammered, "I..I'm sorry...I didn't realize...I'll come back later." Before anyone could speak, JJ rushed out, shutting the door behind her quickly. She placed both hands on her fiery cheeks as the embarrassment permeated through her whole body. 'Oh god', she groaned. She had just made a fool of herself in front of unit chief and her section chief. How was she going to explain the inevitable questions that are currently being asked behind Dave's closed door?

He could come up with a lie but knowing Dave, he'd do anything to embarrass Erin. She could just imagine how he'd gloat to Erin that he had bedded another Agent. How can this be happening? JJ worried as she quickly walked to her office. Shutting the door, she thought about how the powers that be, her SECTION chief in particular had just heard her berate one of her superiors in a way that was very personal.

She couldn't believe her luck! When they had been in a relationship they had keep it on the quiet side but now that it's over, it looks like people are going to figure out what was going on.

Initially, JJ and Dave had decided not to share it with anyone else until they knew where their "friendship" was headed. They really hadn't told anyone what was happening and in truth it was Hotch who had opened Dave's eyes to the possibility that his feelings towards JJ were more than just as a friend.

As for the only other person who knew had figured it out on her own, Penelope should have been a profiler because the night after their first date, she attacked JJ and wanted to know what was going on with the Italian Prince. So for the few months they had been together, they had only been completely free about their relationship with Hotch and Penelope. It wasn't that JJ and David didn't trust Morgan and Reid but they didn't want to put them in a position to have to keep the knowledge of their relationship from anyone else.

Sighing, JJ realized that she missed the thrill of being in a forbidden relationship. It was exciting how they would sneak around to capture a few passionate moments. There was even a time when they thought they had been alone in his office and were in the last throes of the moment when they heard the elevator doors open. Thankfully the person went down the other corridor or they would have definitely heard what was going on behind the doors of Rossi's office. After that night, much to Dave's displeasure, JJ refused to make love in the office.

JJ realized that it wasn't just the secret nature of their relationship that she missed; it was him that she missed. That overbearing, arrogant, pushy Italian had invaded her heart and it was killing her to let him go. "Especially now," JJ thought touching her still flat stomach. It was going to be even more difficult to walk away from him when his presence in her family's life is so cemented.

She wanted to forgive him. It really had been so stupid their fight, but a part of her knew that Dave was never really going to change and it was better for her and her family to understand that now.

Wiping away the tears, she wished that she could control these emotions because she knew that she needed to be strong when she told him the truth. And thinking about Strauss's face when she barged in this morning, she also now needed to worry about her job.

Maybe it was time to finally make that move to the Pentagon. It would be so much easier to be away from the scrutiny of her Section Chief, especially now that she may or may not know that there was something going on with Rossi. And knowing Dave, he'd want to tell the world that his little swimmers made it to the podium. Once that happens, there will be no choice but for one of them to leave. It would be no contest as to who would be leaving, especially based on seniority.

It wasn't that she wanted to leave the BAU but there was no way she could keep her news quiet for much longer. She needed to start thinking about herself and her family. Perhaps it would be better to leave before someone told her she had to. She could save herself the embarrassment of being kicked out of the BAU. Nodding her head, she realized that this was the only option for her and the window of opportunity was closing quickly.

Making up her mind, she picked up the phone and dialled the man who had been calling her almost monthly to come and work for him "Sir, it's me. " Closing her eyes, she stirred up the courage she needed to say her next words. "I think it's time that we discuss those opportunities that you keep insisting that I shouldn't pass up. "


End file.
